STRATEGIC funding from the national Church of England will help to transform church life in Paulsgrove.

The five-year project aims to revitalise St Michael’s Church, with a range of new congregations and an emphasis on young people and families. Our diocese will employ an associate priest to work alongside the existing vicar, who has already established local credibility and presence, and started to grow the church.

It's part of the overall rejuvenate strategy that has been endorsed by the national C of E’s Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment (SMMI) Board. Just over £600,000 of this will go towards these strategic plans in Paulsgrove. The cash will be spent on employing a new minister specifically to work with families and young people, developing four brand new congregations there, and paying for repairs to the roof and heating system.

One of the new congregations is likely to spring from the existing Choir Church project, which began in September 2024 and is already attracting children from local schools to its weekly sessions.

The vicar, the Rev Hugo Deadman, said: “Paulsgrove is a great place, full of wonderful people. We’re proud to be Paulsgrove – and we know God has a special care for people in communities like this.

“So we want to do more to introduce people to the love of God. We’ve got a growing, loving and supportive church family. We treasure it and the much loved traditional ways in which we worship. But we want to grow it even more – and offer much more to the many young families in Paulsgrove.

“We’ve already got good links – but we want to help them explore faith and grow our church family in ways that work for them, while still within St Michael’s Catholic tradition. We’ve hit the ground running with our Friday after school club, Choir Church – and now we can look forward to doing much more.

“That means building a team – a new minister and new people to add to the excellent volunteers already doing so much. And it means tackling issues with our building, so it’s the asset it should be for the whole of Paulsgrove. It’s an exciting time to serve God and Paulsgrove.”

The project is part of our overall rejuvenate strategy, which aims to employ the people and to revamp the buildings needed to help our parishes and church schools to thrive. The SMMI Board has pledged to invest around £1m a year into those plans for the next five years. The aim is to enable new generations to experience a life-transforming encounter with Jesus Christ.

The diocesan-level vision provides a framework for the life and ministry of parishes and deaneries. It speaks of a diocese longing to be “a rejuvenating community of Jesus-centred, Kingdom-seeking disciples”.